Up, Up and Away!

Today, my friend Sarah and I celebrated Mother's Day. Actually, we were cashing in on our Mother's day gift: a hot air balloon ride and brunch.

Because of some lousy directions and lack of street signs due to construction, we got there a bit late, but we thought it was perfect timing. We saw them finish filling the balloon, but didn't have to stand around in the cold too long. And then it was up, up and away!

I have only been in a hot air balloon once before, but that was when I was ten so it has been quite some time. It was a fun thing to experience again. The coolest part was that we landed the balloon on the Willamette River, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we were hovering with the basket touching the water because the weight of the balloon was not actually on the river.

The sister ship goes for a water touch-down.

Afterward, we had to help get the balloon put away.

Sarah demonstrates proper balloon folding technique.

And then it was a short van ride back to our champagne brunch! A very lovely (and peaceful) way to spend the morning!